Yankees: These players should be on MLB’s and Yanks’ Mount Rushmore

As most are aware, Mount Rushmore National Memorial is an enormous sculpture etched in solid rock in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The monument is approximately 60 feet high and depicts the faces of four prominent presidents (Washington, Jefferson, [Theodore] Roosevelt, and Lincoln).

If we could carve a similar memorial in honor of the four best MLB players of all time, whose faces would be “etched in stone”? Likewise, if we could chisel an analogous memorial in honor of the four best players who had donned the pinstripes, who might they be?

As part of a TV show recognizing Hank Aaron’s career achievements following his passing, my man Chris “Mad Dog” Russo identified three extraordinary players who he would memorialize in such a sculpture. Three of the four greats named by him are Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth. Hard to argue with that list.

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However, Mad Dog and his sidekick Bruce Schein were stumped on the selection of the fourth player. They debated whether either Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays, or Ted Williams should be the final face on the monument.

Russo seemed to slightly lean towards Gehrig because of his overall performance on the diamond and his prominence in American culture (e.g., the movie The Pride of the Yankees, with Oscar recipient Gary Cooper as Gehrig, Gehrig’s stirring retirement speech at Yankee Stadium, etc.). Schein appeared undecided and thought that any one of the three candidates deserved the honor.

Like Russo, I think Gehrig, Mays, and Williams are worthy of consideration to fill the monument’s fourth spot on the rock.

Only position players were considered for placement on the monument by Dog and Schein. They felt that pitchers (starters and relievers) could not be fairly evaluated the same way as everyday players. It is hard to argue against this logic.

The Russo/Schein analysis naturally invites a conversation about which four position players should be placed on a New York Yankees’ Mount Rushmore. As we all know, the team has had terrific players over the years, and it is not easy to determine whose four faces should be carved into the rock. Keeping this in mind, I have selected four Yankee greats who I believe definitely belong on the monument.

4. Joe DiMaggio

The fourth face on the rock belongs to The Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio, who won the AL batting title twice, was named AL MVP three times, famously had a 56-game hitting streak in 1941 (with multiple hits in many of those games), and played well in 10 World Series (with the Yanks winning 9).

During his rather short 13-year career, he hit 361 home runs, drove in 1,537 RBI, and retired with a career batting average of .325. The Hall of Famer had 2,214 hits and played in 13 All-Star Games.

He was married to Marilyn Monroe between 1954 and 1955, which in itself makes him worthy of placement on the Yanks’ Mount Rushmore!

3. Mickey Mantle

Mickey Mantle was selected AL MVP three times, won the Triple Crown in 1956, and hit 18 home runs and drove in 40 RBI in 12 World Series (with the Yanks winning seven of those Fall Classics).

Similar to DiMaggio’s unbelievable record of hitting in 56 games in a row, it is hard to imagine another ball player surpassing Mantle’s home run and RBI totals in World Series play. If only he’d also had several additional postseason rounds to beef up his October statistics like the kids who make their mark these days.

The Oklahoma native and Hall of Famer hit 536 home runs (several were record tape-measure shots) and drove in 1,509 RBI.

Mick ended his career with a slash line of .298/.421/.557. He retired with a career WAR of 110.2. While Mantle experienced several serious injuries during his playing days, he was the best player in the game when he was healthy.

1. Babe Ruth

The “Great Bambino” is clearly among the top three players in MLB history, and more than deserving to be selected for the Bombers’ Mount Rushmore. Babe Ruth raked a slash line of .342/.474/.690 during his career.

The Hall of Famer hit a total of 714 home runs and drove in 2,214 RBI. He collected a total of 2,873 hits and had an amazing career WAR of 182.5. He retired with an unbelievable OPS+ 206. Needless to say, all of his stats are off the charts, and one can understand why he also was called the “Sultan of Swat.”

And if one isn’t blown away by his performance in the batter’s box, remember that he also was an extraordinary starting pitcher. In fact, prior to joining the Yanks and transitioning to a full-time position player, he won the AL ERA title in 1916 with a 1.75 for the Boston Red Sox. He was 23-12 and threw nine shutouts that year, too.